PETER Houston has warned his Falkirk players about the dangers of thinking they already have one foot in the Premiership.

The Bairns boss fears his side might fall for the talk that beating struggling Kilmarnock in the play-off final is a formality following their dramatic stoppage-time win against Hibs.

Houston gathered his troops ahead of tomorrow’s first leg at Falkirk Stadium to tell them they had done nothing yet – and face an even greater challenge toppling their top-flight rivals.

He said: “That is a concern for me. I had a meeting with the players and told them not to be led into thinking we just need to turn up on the night.

“That’s the worst thing that could happen to Falkirk.Last year Motherwell had a poor season but look what they did to a Rangers team that had finished second.

“So I’m very wary. We’ll have to play to our maximum and will probably have to play better than we did against Hibs over two games to get into the Premiership.

Falkirk's Bob McHugh celebrates with teammates

“To be fair to the players, we’ve had incredible highs near the end of games, like the end of the Rangers game here and the Hibs game when we scored two goals in three minutes.

“But it’s down to the emotion of it all. With a last-minute equaliser, it is only natural to get a bit carried away when nothing has actually been done.

“So I’ve said to my players consistently this is magnificent progress so far – but we have achieved nothing yet.”

Houston will use the pain of last season’s Scottish Cup Final defeat by Inverness to motivate his side. The Bairns were heartbroken after conceding with just four minutes left at Hampden and the manager is not interested in another sob story.

He said: “These are two cup finals for us. We got to the Scottish Cup Final last season and immediately after losing to Inverness we spoke about using the hurt we all felt at the final whistle.

“A lot of people gave us plaudits for reaching the final but you only deserve plaudits if you win the trophy.

“People this season have been very kind, saying it’s a great achievement to finish second ahead of Hibs and then get to the play-off final.

Falkirk manager Peter Houston was full of praise for his team

“But I only want plaudits for getting to the Premiership. That’s where Falkirk want to be.”

Houston insists his men won’t be burned out after the Hibs drama.

He added: “The guys are ready. I still think they look fresh. We don’t fear it – we are looking forward to it. But we are also respectful of the fact that Kilmarnock on their day can give a good team a hiding.

“Kilmarnock can do it but their problem is their consistency. Hopefully, we can exploit that.

“I don’t think the game will be won or lost on Thursday night. I want to be still in the tie on Sunday rather than heavily defeated here on Thursday.”